PLANTING FERTILIZATION AND Metarhizium anisopliae INOCULATION IN THE INITIAL GROWTH OF SUGARCANE

Abstract

The study aimed to evaluate the interaction between fertilizer doses (N:P:K) at planting the inoculation of the Metahizium anisopliae fungus in sugarcane billets during the initial development of the plant. The experiment was conducted in pots, under full sun, in a 2 x 5 factorial scheme, specified as follows: with and without inoculation of the fungus in the billets and five doses of NPK fertilizer (0%, 50%, 75%; 100%, and 125% of recommended fertilization). Plant height was measured at 53, 77, and 91 days after planting (DAP), and the root and shoot dry matter (DM) was quantified at 91 DAP. There was no significant influence of the interaction between fungus and NPK fertilizer doses (P>0.05) on all variables analyzed. However, a significant difference was observed for inoculation (P<0.05) and doses of NPK fertilizer <0.05). Inoculation of M. anisopliae resulted in greater plant height and root and shoot DM than non-inoculated plants, regardless of fertilizer doses. In this sense, new studies must be conducted to find a way to reduce the use of NPK fertilizer in sugarcane by M. anisopliae inoculation.